About Me
Photo courtesy of Ellie MacInnes 'The Slice Magazine'
Although I grew up enjoying art and creativity, it wasn’t something I pursued professionally beyond A Level, choosing instead to become an oncology nurse before stopping to become a full time Parent Carer.
Whilst continuing to create in my spare time, it wasn't until 7 or 8 years ago that I really got back into pursuing art. I was initially inspired by an art therapy group with fellow mums and then through local adult education classes.
I restarted with painting and drawing which is what I was familiar with but was soon encouraged by fellow classmates to join them in the printmaking studio and quickly discovered a love for all things printmaking! The more layers and complicated the better!
My work has gradually evolved into printing what I see around me in East London whilst walking my Irish Terrier. I’m drawn to everyday urban scenes rather than popular landmarks. I particularly enjoy routes along the canal and the mixture of characterful boats, buildings and graffiti. I want to inspire people to re-look at their surroundings and discover the vibrancy in the most mundane of areas.
The main 2 areas of my printmaking interest are screen print and reduction linocut.
My screen prints usually involve multiple layers exposed onto screens combining my own sketches of local scenes with layers of colour and texture created from mark making and relief printing textures.
Reduction Linocut was an area I particularly pursued
during lockdown when I needed to find printing techniques that I could achieve at home.
Photo courtesy of Rachel Winter
One piece of lino is increasingly carved to create each layer. There is an element of jeopardy as there is no going back once a layer has been cut.
Both techniques involve the mindful process of planning layers and conceptualising what I am aiming for alongside the freedom of never quite knowing what the next layer will be or what will happen next and adapting as I go along. It’s a bit like painting in slow motion!
Each print I produce is part of a limited edition, every one being an original artwork with slight variations in each.